Incinerator toilet with conveyor belt



1970 -E. B. YBLANKENSHIP 3,496,578

INOINERATOR TOILET wn'n CONVEYOR BELT Filed Sept. 13, 1967 p p p FIG. 2.

- E. BAYNE BLANKENSHIP 3,496,578 INCINERATOR TOILET WITH CONVEYOR BELT Ernest B. Blankenship, Irving, Tex.

(P.0. Box 35164, Dallas, Tex. 75235) Filed Sept. 13, 1967, Ser. No. 667,532 Int. Cl. A47k 11/02 US. Cl. 4'131 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An incinerator toilet wherein human waste, both liquids and solids, are deposited on at least one belt within a housing. A heater dries the waste on the belt and reduces the solids to ashes which fall into a removable ash pan.

This invention relates to incinerator toilets and has reference to a conveyor belt therein on which liquid waste is evaporated and subsequently vented and on which solids are reduced to ashes and then deposited in a removable ash pan.

Heretofore, various means have been used to transfer waste from the toilet bowl to the incinerator chamber without leaving unsightly deposits. One such means was to place a paper insert in the bowl and then, by suitable means, drop the paper and waste into the incinerator chamber. Another means was to use the incinerator chamber as a depository without the use of a bowl as such, in which case there was a heat shield over the chamber which had to be removed before each use. In either case the user had to perform an operation before using the toilet, otherwise the visible interior was unsightly.

Incinerator toilets are primarily for public use where the supply of water is limited, for example, on trains, buses and other conveyances. Thus there should be a minimum requirement of operation on the part of the user, and the toilet should be clean and sightly at all times. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an incinerator toilet which meets these requirements.

Another object is to provide, in a waterless toilet, an endless belt for conveying waste to an incinerator chamber, and which belt includes a scraper thcrebeneath to assure the removal of the waste.

A further object is to provide a waterless toilet wherein the incinerator chamber is covered at all times, thus obstructing the view of prior deposits even though they have been reduced to ashes.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of an incinerator toilet showing some of the inner parts by dotted lines.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view taken approximately on line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 and showing the vent in broken section and elevation.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2, and

FIGURE 4 is a broken perspective view showing converging belts according to a preferred form of the invention.

The illustrated form of the invention includes a rectangular housing having a front 11, back 12, sides 13, top 14 and bottom 15. However, the housing could ice be of some other configuration, not shown. In the front center portion of the top 14 there is a bowl 16 havinga bottom opening which is almost as large as the top of the bowl. Above and around the bowl 16 there is a seat 17 and lid 18, both of which are hinged, at 19, in the usual manner, to the rear center portion of the housing top 14.

Within the housing 10, and spaced from the sides thereof, there is an incinerator chamber 20 having front,-

back and side walls 21, 22 and 23 of metal, such as sheet steel, and around the walls there is a layer of insulating material 24.

Spaced from the bottom of the chamber 20 there is an open type heater 25 having an electrical supply line 26 extending through the rear wall 22. Beneath the heater 25 there is an ash pan 27 which is removable through openings 28 and 29 in the front wall 21 of the chamber 20 and the front of the housing 10. A closure 30 for the outer opening 29 is mounted on the front of the pan 27 by connecting arms 31. A velt pipe 32 extends from the interior of the chamber 20 through the rear wall 22 thereof, through the insulating material 24, and out through the rear 12 of the housing 10.

The preferred form of the invention shown includes two downwardly converging endless belts 33 within the incinerator chamber 20 as best shown in FIGURE 4. These belts 33 are of a heat resisting materials such as fiber glass and Teflon. Each belt has an upper and lower parallel roller 34 and 35 which are mounted on pairs of arms 36, the upper rollers of which are mounted on shafts 37 driven by gear reduction motors 38 mounted on the outer surfaces of the chamber walls 23. Mounted on the lower edges of the arms 36, and bearing against the forward and rear chamber walls 21, 22, there are compression springs 39 which urge the lower rollers 35 toward each other. On each pair of arms 36 there are equally spaced depending projections 40, each pair of which has a transverse scraper -41 in contact with the surface of the belt 33 thereabove. The rotation of each gear motor 38 is such that the upper surfaces of the belts 33 move downwardly and if any solids on the belts reach the areas of the rollers the latter separate by reason of the action of the springs 39. Thus, the solids, either reduced to ashes or partially reduced to ashes, fall through the heater 25 into the ash pan 27. On the upper rear surface of the housing 10 there is a case 42 having a switch button 43 for actuating the heater 25 and the belts 33 after each use of the incinerator. Above the switch 43 and on each side thereof there are resilient pads or buttons 44 which the lid 18 contacts when the latter is raised.

The invention is not limited to the exemplary construction herein shown and described, but may be made in various ways within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an incinerator toilet having a housing, an open seat in the top of said housing, an incinerator chamber Within said housing and a source of heat in the latter, at least one conveyor belt above said source in said chamber and having its discharge end above said heater, said conveyor belt being smooth and flat and beneath said seat.

2. In an incinerator toilet as defined in claim 1 and wherein there are two said belts which are spring mounted and downwardly" and convergingly mounted relative 1,189,714 7/1916 Marcuse 4-115 to'each other; 2,070,307 *2/1937 "Nicholls';; 1;"4- 11'5 3. In an incinerator toilet as defined in claim 1 and 2,279,577 4/ 1942' Martin 4-131 wherein there is a scraper in the proximity of the lower 2,732,564 1/1956 Potts 4-131 surface of said belt. 5 2,771,533 11/1956 Osberg et a1. 4-131 2,903,709 9/1959 Blankenship et a1 4-131 Referen Cited 3,059,597 10/1962 Wood 4-131 UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,331,338 7/1967 Blankenship 4131 219,767 9/1879 Riddle 4-126 299 22 5 1 4 k o 4 11 1O LAVERNE D GEIGER Primary Examiner 4 4 197 12 1 91 Lanphearr 1 D. B. MAS'SENBERG, Assistant Examiner 

